Managed Service for Grafana:New features in Managed Service for Grafana V11.x

View mode and Edit mode

Dashboards now separate viewing from editing. View mode provides a clean, distraction-free layout. Switch to Edit mode to add panels, modify settings, and configure layouts.

Template variables and time picker

The time picker has moved from the toolbar into the dashboard variable bar. As you scroll, both the time picker and template variables remain pinned to the top of the page.

Timezone URL parameter

A new timezone URL parameter lets you set the dashboard timezone directly through the URL.

Dashboard controls in TV mode and Kiosk mode

When playing a playlist or displaying a dashboard in full screen in TV mode or Kiosk mode, use these URL parameters to show or hide controls:

Subfolders

Create subfolders within any folder where you have edit or manage permissions -- no additional permissions required. Subfolders support:

• Folder browsing -- Navigate nested folder structures in the dashboard list.

• Folder moving -- Reorganize dashboards by moving folders.

• Permission management -- Grant users minimum necessary permissions to maintain instance security.

Library panels and panel editor updates

Several updates improve the panel editing experience:

• The library panel tab has been removed from the panel editor.

• (V11.3.0) An Overrides tab now appears at the bottom of the panel options list.

• (V11.3.0) A drop-down menu lets you collapse the visualization picker.

• (V11.3.0) The Share button is now visible in Edit mode.

• In Cell Inspect, table cell values are automatically formatted.

  

Template variable support in transformations

Template variables now work with these transformations: Limit, Sort by, Filter data by values, Grouping to matrix, Heatmap, and Histogram.

Filter data by values

Filter rows by adding a condition, selecting a field, choosing a matcher, and entering the string to match.

Transpose

Pivot data frames by converting rows into columns and columns into rows. This transformation is useful for data sources that do not support pivot queries natively.

Group to nested tables

Group table data by specified fields and run calculations on each group, adding depth and utility to table visualizations.

Format string

Standardize string data presentation by formatting values to upper case, lower case, or title case.

Add field from calculation

When setting up binary operations (for example, dividing each column by a specific value), select the All Number Fields option to apply the calculation across all numeric fields at once.

Redesigned plugin details page

The plugin details page highlights important metadata, including richer icon visualizations for the Business Charts (Apache ECharts) component.

AI-powered title and description generation

Use generative AI to auto-generate panel and dashboard titles and descriptions through the Grafana LLM plugin.

Before using this feature, install and configure the LLM plugin.

Data links and actions

A new Data links and actions section in the panel options lets you add actions that call API endpoints directly from visualizations.

Supported visualizations: Bar chart, Candlestick, Heatmap, State timeline, Status history, Time series, Trend, and XY chart.

Canvas

The canvas visualization adds flowcharting capabilities, universal data link support, and infinite panning.

Enhanced flowcharting

• New elements: cloud, parallelogram, and triangle shapes.

• Midpoint controls for curved connectors (connectors no longer have to be straight lines).

• Additional connector styles, including dashed lines with corner radius and direction control.

• Horizontal and vertical snapping for connectors.

• Rounded corner styling for elements.

• Element rotation.

Infinite panning

Zoom in and out of canvases for large diagrams.

Note

To try this update, you must first enable the canvasPanelPanZoom feature toggle.

Universal data link support

Previously, data links were limited to text elements or elements using the TextConfig object. Now, almost all canvas elements support data links and actions.

XY chart

XY charts visualize the relationship between two variables by plotting arbitrary x and y values. Common use cases include scatter plots and bubble charts, where field values determine bubble size.

Table

Colored rows with conditional formatting

Color full table rows using the Colored Background cell type. Map status fields (such as info, debug, or warning) to colors, and let rows display the appropriate threshold color.

Cell text wrapping

*(V11.1)* Wrap text within table cells, either for all columns or for specific columns.

Stat: percent change color

The stat visualization now supports a percent change color option, making it easier to spot trends at a glance.

GeoMap keyboard navigation

Navigate the GeoMap visualization using a keyboard: focus on the map area, move with arrow keys, and zoom in or out with + and -.

State timeline pagination

The state timeline visualization now supports pagination through the Page size option. This limits how many series are visible at once. Previously, all series were compressed into a single panel window, making dense timelines hard to read.

Bar gauge legend support

The bar gauge visualization now includes legend support, standardizing legends across more panel types.

Role-based data source authorization

Data sources now support authorization by role, user, service account, and team for fine-grained access control.

CloudWatch Metric Insights cross-account support

Build SQL queries in the Metric Insights query builder for AWS CloudWatch Plugin to monitor across multiple accounts in the same region.

New data source plugins

Grafana V11.x adds support for Zendesk, Catchpoint Enterprise, and Yugabyte data sources.

GitHub App authentication

The GitHub data source now supports GitHub App authentication, which provides more granular permissions and reduces the risk of over-permissioning. For details, see GitHub data source documentation.

Core Explore improvements

• Left-side navigation -- A new navigation menu for quick positioning within Explore.

• Forward-direction Loki log search -- Browse logs in forward chronological order within a time range, with filtering and pinning support.

  

• Correlations -- Set up links between data sources to navigate from search results to related external URLs.

  

Explore Metrics

Browse Prometheus metrics without writing queries.

• Recent metrics and bookmarks -- Quickly return to previously viewed metrics.

  

• Metric filtering by data source -- Select a data source on the Metrics page to filter results.

  

• History -- Navigate through previously viewed metrics and filters.

• Metric details -- Select a metric to view its summary, drill down into label values, and discover relevant metrics.

  

  

Explore Logs

Browse Loki logs without writing LogQL queries. View log volume and log line samples on the landing page, and filter out noise or focus on anomalies -- all without query syntax. Power users can switch to the familiar Explore interface while preserving context.

Redesigned Alertmanager settings

The alerting settings page has been redesigned with a cleaner layout:

• Updated alert settings interface.

• Improved Alertmanager configuration page.

• Side-by-side Alertmanager configuration comparison.

OAuth2 support for contact points

Contact points now support OAuth2 authentication, in addition to Basic Auth and TLS.

Alert template selector

Select from predefined templates when configuring alert notifications to reduce manual template setup.

Simplified alert rule creation

The query and conditions step for alert rule creation has been simplified. Switch to advanced options to add multiple queries and expressions for more complex rules.

Streamlined alert rule execution and notification settings

Alert rule execution and notification settings have been reorganized to reduce the number of steps needed during rule setup.

Alert rule detail view

The alert rule detail view has been redesigned with metadata displayed at the top and content organized into tabs:

Paused alert visibility has also been improved.

Keep Last State

The Keep Last State option retains the last known state of an alert rule. The alert history view displays a bar chart of recent alert events for quick scanning.

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) for alerting

Contact points, silences, and notifications now support Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), letting you restrict access based on user roles.

LDAP configuration in the UI

Configure LDAP settings directly from the Grafana UI instead of editing configuration files.

Navigation bookmarks

Pin frequently visited pages to the top of the navigation menu for quick access.

Other updates

• Improved title display across the UI.

• Reduced transitions and animations for a snappier feel.

• Anonymous user billing in Grafana Enterprise.

• New strong password policy enforcement.

Announcement banners

Display customizable banners across the Grafana UI to communicate critical information to all users.

Faster PDF export

Dashboard PDF export performance has been dramatically improved. An SLO dashboard with approximately 200 panels that previously took over seven minutes to export now completes in eleven seconds.

Grafana Cloud Migration Assistant

Migrating from self-managed Grafana (open source or Enterprise) to Grafana Cloud previously required manual work with the Grafana HTTP API. The Migration Assistant provides a UI-driven workflow:

1. Start the migration and create a token.

2. Complete the migration.